>

Republ ic o he Phil ippi nes

House of Representatives
Batasan Complex, Quezon City
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.
1321
---
Introduced by: Gabriela Women's Party Reps . LUZVIMINDA C. !LAGAN and EMMI. A. DE JESUS
A RESOLUTION
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTAT S
CONDEMNING THE GRAVE VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HU IT RJAN LAW
AMOUNTING TO WAR CRIMES COMMITTED BY THE ISRAELI DEFENSE FOR E I THE CONDUCT
OF ITS MOST RECENT INVASION ON GAZA STRIP, INDISCRIMINATELY KILU G NARMED
CIVILIANS INCLUDING INNOCENT WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND CALLING 0 ISRAEL TO
IMMEDIATELY RECALL THE INVASION AND, FINALLY, EXPRESSING SUPPORT
TO THE UNITED NATIONS' RESOLUTION TO INVESTIGATE ISRAEL
WHEREAS, on July 08, 2014, Israel launched a ground military offensive on au sensibly in
order to flush out urban guerillas belonging to Hamas. Dubbed as Operation Pr - - E e, the
ground offensive is a virtual invasion, involving armored and elite commando u i ' e Israeli
Defense Force with air support from the Israeli Air Force;
WHEREAS, Gaza is a strip of land 41 kilometers long and 6 to 12 kilometers wide, a i g up a total
area of 365 sq. kilometers. It is an autonomous region under the unity gave ent of the
Palestinian Authority and Hamas. Since 1994, it has been fenced in by Israel with igh concrete
border barriers to contain the movement of its Pales inia inhabitants. With a populati on of 1.82
million, about 90 % of which are Palestinian refugees, it is the most compact area and most densely
populated part of the Mi ddle East;
WHEREAS, Israel i offici als claimed that the offensive would be a surgical operation that would only
strike at specifi c ilitary targets. But as early as day 1 of the offensive, scores of innocent
Palestinian civilians .iere already killed by sweeping Israeli ground attacks and aerial
bombardment. As the e sive went on, built-up civi li an areas, hospitals, homes for the di sabled,
mosques and school s vere also interdicted for indiscriminate destruction;
WHEREAS, it has been widely reported that the Israeli Defense Force is using flechette shells in the
invasion (The Guardian, 'Israel- using flechette shells in Gaza', 07/20/2014). Flechette shells are bombs
that, upon explosion, spray metal darts in a conical arch 300 meters long and 80 meters wide. They are
essentially anti-personnel weapons that deliver 3 layers of impact on targets, thereby increasing the range
of casualties;
WHEREAS, as of the 16
1
h day of the invasion, the death toll in Gaza has already reached 655 Palestinians
killed and 4,220 wounded (Haaretz, LIVE UPDATES: Operation Protective Edge, Day 16, 07/24/14). About
3/4 of the death toll are civilians, including 147 children. Palestinians escapi g from the invasion have
swelled the number of refugees in United Nations tent cities to 60,000 (ibid.). In co trast, the IDF suffered
only 32 deaths (ibid.);
WHEREAS, the invasion has been so indiscriminate that even Israel's staunc es allies are censuring
Israel for the IDF's lack of precision in selecting their targets. US Secretary of Sta e Kerry was quoted
to have sarcastically said, 'It's a hell of a pinpoint operation' (The Huffington Pos , ' Kerry's Hot Mic
Reaction to Gaza', 07/20/14). The United Nations have also noted the high level civilian casualties,
prompting its Human Rights Council to propose an investigation, on Israel for war cri es ( aaretz, ibid.);
WHEREAS, the Israeli invasion has also indiscriminately destroyed the infrastructure of a e es in Gaza.
Exacerbating the IDF's indiscriminate mili tary targeting is the destruction of water suppl y sys e s, electric
power, food and medicine supply lines. Whole residenti al blocks have been reduced into rubbles and, as
hospitals and clinics are bombed to total destruction, many of the dead and wounded are merely left
unattended in the streets. All this has resul ted in extreme humanitarian crisis in Gaza;
WHEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED THAT the House of Representatives
pass and approve this resolution expressing i .s sense of condemnation of the grave viol ations of
International Humanitarian Law amounting to ar crimes committed by the Israeli Defense Force in
the conduct of its most recent invasion on Gaza Strip, indiscriminately killing unarmed civil ians,
including innocent women and children; AND call ing on Israel to immediately recall the invasion;
AND, FINALLY, expressing support for the UN reso to investigate Israel.